Severe Storms Possible Through The Weekend — But They May Keep This Giant Dust Cloud Away

Fox 13 meteorologists are looking at a layer of Saharan dust moving in Atlantic waters on June 13, 2019, and tracking its spread into the next work week.

Fox 13 News

South Florida is in a pattern of strong-to-severe thunderstorms through the weekend — with some potential accompanying wind gusts up to 60 mph.

But the downpours could have one possible health benefit. They may keep us from coughing from a large Saharan dust plume expected to blanket much of the Atlantic through Friday and spread into the Caribbean over the weekend and into early next week, according to CBS4 meteorologist Craig Setzer.

People with respiratory issues in the Caribbean ought to be aware, he said.

It’s hard to be a fan of hurricanes. Two out of three Haitians don’t have enough food to eat these days – thanks largely to storms like last year’s Hurricane Sandy and how they’ve ravaged Haiti’s agricultural landscape.

And yet we need hurricanes once in a while. They’re a sort of planetary thermostat that cools oceans and redistributes hot air. Their rains more effectively alleviate droughts, and that can be a help instead of a horror to impoverished countries like Haiti.